BANGLADESH BANK has instructed all the scheduled banks to set up help desk to accelerate remittance inflow through banking channel. The central bank urged top 30 remittance-recipient banks to go all-out to revamp ebbing remittance inflow, apparently following the World Bank's pessimistic projection.
It was evident in the BB's statistics that remittance inflow for the last eleven months has dropped 14 per cent from US$11.55 billion compared to the same period the previous year. The expatriate Bangladeshis are not inclined to send their remittance through banking channels as they are not getting proper services from banks.
Instead, Bangladeshi people working abroad, are remitting their money through illegal channels like hundi. In this way the government is being deprived of valuable foreign exchange which is a driving force of the economy. Top bankers have been asked to take initiatives to build mass awareness both at home and abroad for sending expatriates' hard-earned money through legal channels instead of the illegal "hundi" system. The BB has also instructed banks to let their customers lodge complaints if they are not satisfied with the services of the banks or are being subjected to any harassment. The BB has also directed the banks to inform people of the benefits of sending remittance through banking channel.
Mohammad Zonaed Emran
MNC Banking Unit, MITS,
MTB,CHO,Dhaka.
[email protected]
